


a little bit of help never hurt

by Mikko



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 12:35:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13998456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikko/pseuds/Mikko
Summary: Yachi starts practicing on her own, and Tsukishima notices.





	a little bit of help never hurt

       When Yachi steals herself away during lunch, it doesn't go unnoticed.

       She thinks that she's found the perfect place, a secluded courtyard of the Karasuno campus hidden from windows and pathways. It was only by accident that she'd managed to find it herself, getting lost on her first day back in spring. It's perfect, especially when the weather is nice. Even more so when she begins practicing volleyball there by herself once a week for half an hour after she'd finished eating.

       The rules came simply to Yachi. Her practice was less of a mechanical study of the sport, Kiyoko and Takeda made sure she understood the basics at the very beginning. She was quick to pick up the tactical aspect. It's the execution of the moves that seems to evade Yachi's understanding.

       When the team tries to teach Yachi how to receive a ball, no matter how much help she is offered from Hinata and Nishinoya, she can never get the ball where she wants it to go. Half the time, even, she can hardly receive it at all. Daichi insists her performance anxiety may be getting in the way of her progress, that having so many people around makes it difficult for her to learn. Sugawara, quietly, tells Yachi that Hinata and Nishinoya aren't easily understood when it comes to volleyball-related topics.

       Yachi finds it difficult to blame outside factors for her lack of talent, however, and silently ends up placing the blame solely on her own shortcomings. So, she takes it upon herself to practice and better herself, for her own pride's sake.

\----------

       It doesn't take long for Tsukishima to notice her slipping away, passing by the windows of his classroom and returning flushed in the cheeks and her hair a touch out of place. He puts it together fairly easily what she's been doing, especially given the fact he'd seen her slip one of the club's volleyballs out of the gym's door.

       He assumes she had been as stealthy as her own demeanor allowed her, and he remains surprised none of the other club members noticed. Perhaps they had noticed and looked the other way. Considering who Yachi is as a person, none of the team is likely to accuse her of anything devious.

       He notices when she leaves today. The sun is out and Tsukki finds himself at one of the school's many vending machines, headphones on, and happens to see Yachi from the corner of his eye. Tsukki makes no worry hiding the fact that he's watching her, leaving his drink at the bottom of the machine. Yachi, glancing behind her, meets his gaze and jumps, slipping behind the school building less than elegantly. Though she is out of sight, he has a faint impression that she hasn't gone far.

       A small huff of breath leaves him in the form of a short laugh. Not mocking, necessarily, but amused.

       He retrieves his drink from the machine and heads around the building, sliding his headphones off of his ears and around his neck. Music still plays and he's able to hear it faintly as he makes his way.

       When he sees her, Yachi has her back pressed flush against the building's exterior, eyes screwed shut. Tsukki slows his approach and places his hands into his pockets, squaring his shoulders.

       "Getting some practice in?" He says, as less of a question than a statement.

       Yachi peels one of her eyes open and stutters out a response, obviously shaken by his massive height.

       "U-uh, yes?" She says, as more of a question than a statement.

       Tsukki isn't sure if Yachi is scared of him as a person or is intimidated by his appearance. Either way, he doesn't like that she shy's away from him. He backs up a step, shrugging off his uniform jacket and laying it on the ground, setting his headphones on top.

       "You have a ball, right?" Tsukki is walking away from her now, stretching out his arms. "I'll pass with you for a bit. I doubt the simpleton is a good partner during practice, you won't learn anything from him."

       He glances over his shoulder and sees that she's peeled herself away from the wall and opened her other eye. Pausing, he jerks his head to the courtyard's small field, inviting Yachi to join him.

\----------

       It's not as though Yachi is embarrassed about coming out to practice on her own, it's more so that she's afraid of looking stupid in front of someone so skilled. Especially one so tall and frowny, like Tsukishima.

       The thing is, though, while he's tall, he's not frowny right now.

       As he leads her to the center of the courtyard, Yachi can't help but play with her hands, her general anxiety over the sheer size of this boy making her heart pound in her chest. While his height does intimidate her, being so small, there is something graceful in the way he carries himself. Walking a few feet in front of her, she notices the relaxed tension in his shoulders, the way they sway with each step he takes. Yachi notices, also, that he shuffles his feet as he walks.

       Tsukishima finally stops and turns back to face her. She can tell her face is flushed, and she hopes he attributes it to her nerves, rather than something else. They look at each other in silence for a moment before Tsukishima speaks.

       "You do have a ball, don't you?" Again, more so a statement than a question.

       "Oh! Y-yes, one second," Yachi diverts her gaze to the ground and jogs her way over to a shrub near the field's perimeter. She shuffles around before producing a ratty volleyball, covered in a thin layer of dirt and scratched to hell. Any plan she'd had of returning it to the club has been scrapped. She hurries back to Tsukishima and hands him the ball, nervous to look at his face.

       "Here, sorry it's so beat up."

       "That'll happen if you keep it in a bush." He responds. "It's fine, at least it's not deflated."

       Yachi give him a cautious smile and Tsukishima's lips twitch in response. It's so small that Yachi barely picks up on it, but it's there nonetheless.

       Tsukishima begins with a light underhand serve, and though it travels straight to Yachi she manages to send it flying halfway across the courtyard. Her partner watches it fly far over his head and land with a soft thud several yards away.

       "Wow, okay," He says. "Shrimpy really hasn't helped you at all." Yachi apologizes quickly and moves to shag the ball, but Tsukishima stops her. He jogs over and palms it, hurrying back to her as she apologizes profusely.

       "One more time." Tsukishima moves to serve to Yachi once more, and she prepares herself.

       Once again, as the ball hits her forearms, it's sent flying in the wrong direction. This time, Yachi runs to get it herself, partially to not have to stand and wallow in her embarrassment. When she returns, Tsukishima is waiting patiently with his hands outstretched. She passes the ball to him with both hands.

       "I've been trying, I'm just no good. Sorry, I'll do better."

       "It's not that _you're_ bad, you've just got the wrong form. Hinata's passed his bad habits off to you." He sets the ball on the ground and crosses his arms. "Show me your stance again." He says.

       She does, and he takes a moment to observe her. Yachi stares intently at the ground, and her cheeks flood with a new heat. Tsukishima closes the gap between them with a quick jog and presses lightly on her shoulder with his hand.

       "Your feet need to be farther apart," He says, and drops his gaze to match hers. Quickly, she widens her stance, and corrects herself when Tsukishima says that it's too much. Yachi barely hears him as he continues on, she's focused more on the hand he's laid on her shoulder.

       "Got it?" He asks. She did not, in fact, have it. She had stopped listening after his first tip.

       "Uh, one more time?" She responds, a small quake in her voice.

       "Your hips need to be lower to the ground. Bend your knees more." Yachi does this, and Tsukishima walks back to his original position, picking up the ball.

       After a moment, she lifts her gaze once more, cheeks still red, and clasps her hands. Tsukishima serves the ball lightly once more, and Yachi prepares herself. As the ball connects, she's so focused on keeping her stance that she doesn't move an inch. The ball flies generally in the same direction from which it came, but stops short of Tsukishima.

       However, Yachi is ecstatic.

       "It didn't go crazy!" She forgets herself and gives a small jump, happy that it somewhat heeded her direction.

       "It also fell way, way short." Tsukishima says, retrieving the ball again. "When you hit the ball, don't forget to swing your arms. Not a lot, you've just gotta gauge the distance."

       "R-right," Yachi says, still happy.

       "It was good, though." He says, a light smile dimpling his cheeks. "Better than what Shrimpy could do when he started here."

       Yachi is smiling now, too, a large and happy one. She reassumes her form and nods at Tsukishima, signaling that she's ready. Once more, Tsukishima serves the ball and, once more, Yachi receives it. This time, however, as the ball approaches, Yachi takes a light swing at it. It connects, stinging her forearms a bit, and travels just a bit left of Tsukishima, and a foot short.

\----------

       Tsukki adjusts his positioning and easily receives the ball, sending it straight into the air before he catches it.

       When he looks to Yachi, about to praise her, he's delightfully surprised that she's already run over to him, babbling.

       "I did it! That one was good, right? It hurt my arms a little bit, but it felt cool!" Tsukki's heart flutters, just once, and he looks at her face. She's occupied, looking down at her hands and rubbing her forearms.

       "That was pretty good," He says, honestly. "I mean, the form isn't perfect, but we're just going over the basics." Yachi looks up at him, and with a smile so big plastered across her face, he can't help but reciprocate one of his own.

       "It's much easier with a partner, I've never been able to get it to go the way I wanted it to before." She looks up at him, their height difference staggering. "Thank you, Tsukishima!"

       Tsukki blushes so extremely that he's sure his entire face is the same shade as a beet. He uses his free hand to cover the bottom half of his face.

       Looking at her only makes it worse, so he averts his eyes and looks to the sky. Yachi is still rambling, hardly paying attention to him, and he takes a deep breath in, then exhales slowly.

       "Well, maybe next week… I could join you again." Yachi stops mid-sentence, and slowly, Tsukishima lowers his head to look at her.

       She's staring up at him, red-faced. It takes a few moments, both of them in silence, before she answers.

       "Y-yes! That would be great, Tsukishima!" Relieved, Tsukki lets out the last of his breath and smiles again, lightly.

       "Come on," He says, turning away quickly. "We've got a few minutes before the bell, let's try again."


End file.
